Thanks all. Here's the next instalment...
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Chapter Fifteen
Cardassian vessel
En route to Rura Penthe
May 30, 2378 (Stardate 55410.1)
Now dressed in a flimsy gauze of a dress that showed more than it hid, Maria Snowcroft was in a harem awaiting the officers coming off-shift. As she waited for whatever fate befell her, she considered the differences in behaviour between the two universes. Dukat was far crueller in this universe, as expected, but his deviousness had yet to be calculated. He was used to calling the shots and had been in a position of power before Legate Damar had ousted him somehow. She wondered how troublesome the Aaron Wright of this universe was that his incarceration at Rura Penthe would be enough to restore Dukat’s powerbase and rid him of Damar.
‘Are you really from that other universe?’ one of the other Terrans asked her.
‘I think she’s a spy,’ an older Bajoran woman said. ‘You know Dukat likes to play his games.’
Snowcroft rubbed her face where the soldier’s rough scales had caused more damage than the punch itself and opened and closed her eye a few times to test the depth perception. It was improving. ‘I am from the other universe, and if I were a spy, what information do you think Dukat would be after from a collection of comfort women. He probably knows everything that happens on this ship anyway and I know this room is monitored. I’m a Starfleet officer, not a Terran whore.’
The older woman stepped forward to where Snowcroft was sitting. ‘I am no whore. Dukat treats me well and my family wants for nothing.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘Why do you care?’
‘I’ve noticed that in some cases, the roles people play in life are remarkably similar in both universes. Indulge my Terran curiosity.’
The woman smiled a little. ‘My name is Tora Naprem.’
The thought suddenly coalesced. ‘You have a daughter, don’t you?’
‘I have several, what of it?’
The Cadet looked around the harem and then up at where she thought the listening devices were. She decided to go ahead anyway. ‘You have a daughter with Dukat, don’t you?’
‘I did have, she died,’ Tora replied sadly and dipped her head. Then her head snapped up. ‘How do you know that?’
‘Her name is Ziyal,’ Snowcroft continued. ‘She’s not dead. Dukat probably hid her away, or sold her so the Order didn’t find out. But Damar found out and he found Ziyal, using her to remove Dukat from power. That’s why he’s back on a ship.’
‘You lie!’ Tora snarled, reaching for Snowcroft’s throat.
The other girls hauled her back.
‘I assume that Dukat was in a position of great power, so what could be enough to make him fall so far?’
Tora dropped to a couch. ‘An illegitimate child, a half-breed,’ she almost whispered. ‘Have you seen her?’
‘In my universe, Damar killed her for treason. She was a beautiful woman.’
Snowcroft was thankful that she’d had the opportunity to live on Deep Space Nine otherwise she’d never have been able to use this.
‘He’ll not kill her again,’ Tora swore.
‘Damar doesn’t need her anymore,’ the cadet replied. ‘If you help me get out of here, I can help you find her.’
‘How?’
‘Dukat knows where she is, I heard him telling someone when I was brought on board. I think he’s a doctor of some kind.’
‘A butcher,’ Tora said. ‘He’s the only one Dukat confides in, so he probably knows where Ziyal is as well. He’ll be easier to reach than Dukat.’
‘That’s as it may be,’ the devil said as he entered the room and looked at Snowcroft. ‘I see you need another lesson.’
‘I would advise against that,’ Tora said and the other girls surrounded the cadet.
Dukat touched a button on his wrist-comm and the doors opened, flooding the room with guards. ‘Move aside or I will have no choice but to shoot you all.’
‘Even me?’ Tora asked.
‘You no longer entice me, my dear.’
‘Then I will take my daughter and leave.’
‘I don’t think so. Ziyal is a daughter of Hebitia and will join me.’
‘No, she won’t,’ Tora lunged at Dukat and was cut down before she made it a metre.
This galvanised the others into close-quarters action, tackling the guards before they could fire. Dukat backed out of the room as Snowcroft moved after him. She was so intent on him that she didn’t see the three guards until they pinned her down. She managed to get one of them off her with a back kick but another joined the fray. The girls were barely holding their own against the guards and Snowcroft began to fight with whatever limb was free. Her arms were held down and her legs trapped as one of the guards decided to take advantage of her. When his hand touched the bare flesh between her legs, something inside her snapped.
With a movement faster than the eye could see, Snowcroft scissored her legs and snapped the guard’s spine, then flipped herself over and dislodged her arms from the other Cardassians. In less than a second, she'd twisted their necks and slid about the room as silently as a ghost. About a minute after the melee started, the guards lay dead on the deck and the girls were cradling Tora’s body. Snowcroft just crouched nearby breathing slowly as blood dripped from her hands, most of it hers from attacking the micro-scales that passed for Cardassian skin.
‘What happened to you?’ a young Terran asked fearfully.
‘My mother says my people call it blood rage.’
‘You’re not Terran are you?’
‘Half-human,’ she answered with a sigh.
‘What of the other half?’
‘I don’t know. I only ever knew my mother. My father left before I was born and my mother never spoke of him.’
‘We should leave you in a room with Dukat,’ the Terran said, feeling safer. ‘We’ll help you, but we should leave this room before he checks the security feeds.’
‘Take the weapons. We’ll need them,’ Snowcroft said as she picked up a phaser rifle. ‘It’s time that the Alliance learned that we won’t die on our knees.’
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Chapter Fifteen
Cardassian vessel
En route to Rura Penthe
May 30, 2378 (Stardate 55410.1)
Now dressed in a flimsy gauze of a dress that showed more than it hid, Maria Snowcroft was in a harem awaiting the officers coming off-shift. As she waited for whatever fate befell her, she considered the differences in behaviour between the two universes. Dukat was far crueller in this universe, as expected, but his deviousness had yet to be calculated. He was used to calling the shots and had been in a position of power before Legate Damar had ousted him somehow. She wondered how troublesome the Aaron Wright of this universe was that his incarceration at Rura Penthe would be enough to restore Dukat’s powerbase and rid him of Damar.
‘Are you really from that other universe?’ one of the other Terrans asked her.
‘I think she’s a spy,’ an older Bajoran woman said. ‘You know Dukat likes to play his games.’
Snowcroft rubbed her face where the soldier’s rough scales had caused more damage than the punch itself and opened and closed her eye a few times to test the depth perception. It was improving. ‘I am from the other universe, and if I were a spy, what information do you think Dukat would be after from a collection of comfort women. He probably knows everything that happens on this ship anyway and I know this room is monitored. I’m a Starfleet officer, not a Terran whore.’
The older woman stepped forward to where Snowcroft was sitting. ‘I am no whore. Dukat treats me well and my family wants for nothing.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘Why do you care?’
‘I’ve noticed that in some cases, the roles people play in life are remarkably similar in both universes. Indulge my Terran curiosity.’
The woman smiled a little. ‘My name is Tora Naprem.’
The thought suddenly coalesced. ‘You have a daughter, don’t you?’
‘I have several, what of it?’
The Cadet looked around the harem and then up at where she thought the listening devices were. She decided to go ahead anyway. ‘You have a daughter with Dukat, don’t you?’
‘I did have, she died,’ Tora replied sadly and dipped her head. Then her head snapped up. ‘How do you know that?’
‘Her name is Ziyal,’ Snowcroft continued. ‘She’s not dead. Dukat probably hid her away, or sold her so the Order didn’t find out. But Damar found out and he found Ziyal, using her to remove Dukat from power. That’s why he’s back on a ship.’
‘You lie!’ Tora snarled, reaching for Snowcroft’s throat.
The other girls hauled her back.
‘I assume that Dukat was in a position of great power, so what could be enough to make him fall so far?’
Tora dropped to a couch. ‘An illegitimate child, a half-breed,’ she almost whispered. ‘Have you seen her?’
‘In my universe, Damar killed her for treason. She was a beautiful woman.’
Snowcroft was thankful that she’d had the opportunity to live on Deep Space Nine otherwise she’d never have been able to use this.
‘He’ll not kill her again,’ Tora swore.
‘Damar doesn’t need her anymore,’ the cadet replied. ‘If you help me get out of here, I can help you find her.’
‘How?’
‘Dukat knows where she is, I heard him telling someone when I was brought on board. I think he’s a doctor of some kind.’
‘A butcher,’ Tora said. ‘He’s the only one Dukat confides in, so he probably knows where Ziyal is as well. He’ll be easier to reach than Dukat.’
‘That’s as it may be,’ the devil said as he entered the room and looked at Snowcroft. ‘I see you need another lesson.’
‘I would advise against that,’ Tora said and the other girls surrounded the cadet.
Dukat touched a button on his wrist-comm and the doors opened, flooding the room with guards. ‘Move aside or I will have no choice but to shoot you all.’
‘Even me?’ Tora asked.
‘You no longer entice me, my dear.’
‘Then I will take my daughter and leave.’
‘I don’t think so. Ziyal is a daughter of Hebitia and will join me.’
‘No, she won’t,’ Tora lunged at Dukat and was cut down before she made it a metre.
This galvanised the others into close-quarters action, tackling the guards before they could fire. Dukat backed out of the room as Snowcroft moved after him. She was so intent on him that she didn’t see the three guards until they pinned her down. She managed to get one of them off her with a back kick but another joined the fray. The girls were barely holding their own against the guards and Snowcroft began to fight with whatever limb was free. Her arms were held down and her legs trapped as one of the guards decided to take advantage of her. When his hand touched the bare flesh between her legs, something inside her snapped.
With a movement faster than the eye could see, Snowcroft scissored her legs and snapped the guard’s spine, then flipped herself over and dislodged her arms from the other Cardassians. In less than a second, she'd twisted their necks and slid about the room as silently as a ghost. About a minute after the melee started, the guards lay dead on the deck and the girls were cradling Tora’s body. Snowcroft just crouched nearby breathing slowly as blood dripped from her hands, most of it hers from attacking the micro-scales that passed for Cardassian skin.
‘What happened to you?’ a young Terran asked fearfully.
‘My mother says my people call it blood rage.’
‘You’re not Terran are you?’
‘Half-human,’ she answered with a sigh.
‘What of the other half?’
‘I don’t know. I only ever knew my mother. My father left before I was born and my mother never spoke of him.’
‘We should leave you in a room with Dukat,’ the Terran said, feeling safer. ‘We’ll help you, but we should leave this room before he checks the security feeds.’
‘Take the weapons. We’ll need them,’ Snowcroft said as she picked up a phaser rifle. ‘It’s time that the Alliance learned that we won’t die on our knees.’
